What are degrees Celsius Symbol (° C)?

We explain what degrees Celsius are and who was the creator of this unit of measurement. Also, what are Kelvin and Fahrenheit degrees.

A unit of measurement for temperature, wrongly known as degrees Celsius, and represented by the symbol ° C, is called degrees Celsius . This unit pays tribute to its creator, the Swedish physicist and astronomer Anders Celsius, and is equivalent in caloric intensity to the Kelvin degree scale, so it can be defined with the following formula:

Temperature (° C) =
Temperature (K) – 273.15

Paradoxically, William
Thompson, creator of the Kelvin scale, created it based on the Celsius degree
scale, since it is later. However, the latter is the one accepted by the
International System, along with that of Celsius as an accessory unit.

For its part, the
conversion from degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit is done using the
following formula:

Temperature (° F) = 1.8
x Temperature (° C) + 32

The Celsius degree scale places its zero point (0) about 0.01 degrees below the triple point of water: that in which the three states of matter, solid , liquid and gaseous , coexist in equilibrium .

Initially, its creator had based on the freezing and boiling points of water , assigning them 100 and 0 degrees respectively, so that the higher the temperature, the lower the temperature. This logic would be reversed around 1744 when Jean-Pierre Christin and Carlos Linneo proposed to reverse it.

2.Anders Celsius

The creator of the Celsius scale was Anders Celsius (1701-1744), a scientist of Swedish origin. Born in the Swedish Empire, he was professor of astronomy at the University of Uppsala , where he supervised the construction of his observatory, in charge of which he has been since 1740.

He was interested in observing the northern lights , in measuring the flattening of the planet at its poles, although his best-known scientific contribution is the creation of the temperature scale that bears his name, which he proposed to the Swedish Academy of Sciences. as a replacement for the Farenheit scale, of German origin.

He died in 1744, a victim of tuberculosis. However, in life he enjoyed numerous recognitions in the scientific area , such as his acceptance in the Royal Society, in the Leopoldina Academy of Natural Sciences or the Prussian Academy of Sciences. Subsequently, one of the craters of the Moon was named in his honor.

3.Kelvin degrees

Created by William Thompson Kelvin (called Lord Kelvin) in 1848, it was established using the Celsius scale, but relocating its zero point (0) to make it coincide with the so-called absolute zero (-273.15 ° C, minimum possible temperature) but keeping the same dimensions of the scale. This thermometric unit is represented by the letter K and is considered the “absolute temperature”, which is why it is used in the scientific field, especially in physics and chemistry .

Kelvin degrees are also used to measure color temperature in film , video, and photography . That is, a scale to measure color compared to what a black body heated at a certain temperature in degrees kelvin would emit.

4.Farenheit degrees

Represented with the symbol ° F, the degree Farenheit was proposed by the German physicist and engineer Daniel Gabriel Farenheit in 1724 . According to its scale, the freezing and boiling points of water are 32 ° F and 212 ° F respectively, that is, unlike the Celsius scale, it does not use these points as defining limits.

Instead, Farenheit
determined its zero point on the scale through a usual cold mix: ice, water,
and ammonium chloride. This is because he wanted to abolish the negative
scales of the Rømer scale used until then.